Kindergarten Teacher Explains Why She Asks Parents To Buy A Specific 16-Pack Of Crayons
Everybody knows that back-to-school shopping can be taxing on a parent's budget and even patience some days. What would you do if your child's teacher requested they purchase a specific box of crayons versus whatever ones you would usually get? Would you be willing to accommodate?
One teacher is explaining why she asks her students to get a specific box of crayons for the school year, but people are divided on whether it's a realistic ask.
"As A Kindergarten Teacher I Only Want The 16-Pack Of Crayons"
TikTok user @smilesamy70 regularly shares teaching tips from her kindergarten classroom on TikTok.
She mentioned in a recent video that she prefers when her primary students purchase the 16-pack of Crayola crayons versus the 24-pack or a different brand name, and some parents had questions.
Parents Wanted To Know Why The Teacher Prefers The 16-Pack
One of Amy's followers commented: "Why the 16pk instead of the 24pk? Only asking because my son's teacher [requested] the 16pk last year which was $2.99 but the 24pk was 50 cents."
With the cost being so much higher for the 16-pack, the obvious choice seems to be the 24-pack, but Amy went on to explain her reason for asking for the more expensive box.
"I'm Talking Specifically For Early Education—Kindergarten, Pre-K, Grade 1"
She says that the crayon box issue is specifically relevant for kindergarten-aged students and early childhood education.
It comes down to the available colors in each of the boxes, and according to Amy, less is more in the kindergarten classroom.
The "Art Crazy" Brand Is Lower Quality Than "Crayola"
She starts by showing the three most popular options for back-to-school crayons. She says that the 24-pack of Crazy Art crayons are lower quality, break easily, and don't compare to Crayola's colors.
Then she gets into the real issue, what's the difference between the 16-pack and the 24-pack of Crayola's crayons?
There Are Two "Red" Colors In The 24-Pack And They Both Appear Differently On Paper
Instead of just explaining it, Amy lays out the 24-pack of crayons and draws two small apples to illustrate her point.
She says that if she asked a child to get the color "red" from the crayon pile, they could be easily confused by two variations of the shade, one that appears more pink on paper.
Children Get Easily Frustrated When They Select The Wrong Color
She says that teaching kindergartners their primary colors works much better when they only have the options they need in front of them.
Amy explains that they do a lot of coloring to solve math problems and children can become easily frustrated when they accidentally select the wrong color for assignments, causing them to lose focus on the actual lesson.
The 24-Pack Is Cheaper And Easier To Find
Amy admits that she knows that the 24-pack of crayons is the most popular one in stores and that "they're the ones that go on sale," while the 16-pack can be harder to find.
But still, she says that finding the 16-pack is the way to go.
The "Blue" Color Has Four Potential Options In The 24-Pack
She points out the color shade issue in the 24-pack doesn't end with the red crayon.
The "blue" color has four potential options, one of which is actually purple, and one is light turquoise. Most of them look quite similar until you color on the white page.
If The Students Have A 24-Pack, The Teacher Separates The 16 Primary Colors That Her Students Will Use
Amy says that when she ends up with the 24-pack of crayons in her classroom, she goes ahead and pulls out the 16 primary colors "that they need" to make things easier.
She explains how this eliminates frustration during color selection and coloring activities.
The Orange-Colored Crayons Also Have Multiple Options
She ends her video by saying: "I haven't even started on the oranges yet! Look at the oranges."
In conclusion, Amy said, "That's why I ask for the 16-count, just for my littles, so they have confidence and don't have to wonder 'is this going to be pink or red?' or 'is this going to be blue or purple?' because they're not readers yet!"
The Cheapest Option Is To Buy The 24-Pack And Take Out The 16 You Need
One commenter said that Amy's perspective is completely understandable from an educator's perspective, but that there has to be a solution for the families who are saving money where they can.
Some moms were thankful for the new perspective, saying they will be sure to send their children with the 16-pack in the fall, even though they were skeptical at first.
Some Commenters Disagreed With Her Approach And Accused Her Of Being Too Picky
Not everyone was on board and Amy did end up getting some comments from people who disagreed with her teaching style. She handled them well, though, and continued to educate people on the reasons she chooses to stick to her preference.
One mom admitted that she will likely still buy the cheaper box but be sure to sort through them and send only one of each color to school with her kindergartner.
What do you think? Did this story change your perspective when buying school supplies?
